strawberry rolls

this is the last post of strawberry week! be sure to check out the other sweet treats here. 

most sunday mornings i get up first, make myself some coffee, pour a bowl of cereal/fruit with yogurt, and watch the food network for an hour or so. last weekend, i caught claire robinson pulling picture perfect blueberry strudels out of the oven to finish her elaborate weekend brunch. as much as i love all things strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry, one berry i've never really cared for was the blueberry. it does absolutely nothing for me. luckily i had a box of puff pastry dough sitting in the freezer and a few cups of fresh strawberries left and the strudel was mine!

i don't work with puff pastry or phyllo dough much at all. when i saw and heard claire say she used phyllo dough, i assumed it was the same as puff pastry (which i conveniently already had in the freezer). the main difference? where phyllo is made up of multiple sheets of unleavened dough stacked together, puff pastry is one sheet of unleavened dough folded multiple times with a layer of chilled butter between them. what does this really mean? phyllo and puff pastry can't be used interchangeably and still get the same results.

so while my strawberry strudels aren't really strudels, they sure are tasty. 

strawberry rolls
inspired by claire robinson on five ingredient fix
1 hour, makes 4 strudels (serves 4 to 8)

see how much dough i have in my rolls? i used a whole sheet of puff pastry per roll instead of half a sheet, as written below.

3 cups strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
pinch of salt
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

1. combine the strawberries, sugar, corn starch, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. simmer until thickened, about three minutes, stirring frequently. cool completely.
2. preheat your oven to 400F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. lay one sheet of puff pastry on a work surface and cut in half. working with one half at a time, place one quarter of the cooled strawberries in the lower third of the puff pastry, leaving at least an inch border around the sides and the end. fold the bottom up and over the strawberries and fold in the sides to cover the strawberries also. gently roll the puff pastry up to form the roll. place seam side down on the baking sheet. continue with the remaining puff pastry.
4. use a sharp knife to cut a few vents in the tops of the rolls. bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and the pastry is cooked throughout. cool for 15 to 20 minutes and serve.